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Monday, July 16, 2007
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Josh Marshall: "...Iraq doesn't really have a government. It's a country that remains under military occupation. And the 'government' is just a group of factions playing a multi-layer chess game, partly under our watch and partly gaming out position for our departure."
"2008 pres"
6:50:59 PM 
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Ed Cone: "Wall Street Journal says Republicans in the South 'look a lot like the bitterly divided Democrats of three decades ago.' Some of the problems are political and seem natural for a party in power. Some stem from bad behavior, like the lead item, a federal grand jury indictment of SC treasurer Thomas Ravenel for alleged cocaine distribution."
From The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, a Chat with Hillary. 
"2008 pres"
6:44:18 PM
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Captain's Quarters: "Events over the last few days have indicated that Pervez Musharraf has rethought his hands-off deal with radical Islamists in Waziristan. After the Red Mosque siege and seizure, the Waziris have apparently concluded the same thing. Today they announced that the Waziri tribes would wothdraw from the agreement and, in effect, declared war on Pakistan."
"2008 pres"
6:46:29 AM
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Wall Street Journal: "It's been 10 years since the blog was born. Love them or hate them, they've roiled presidential campaigns and given everyman a global soapbox. Twelve commentators -- including Tom Wolfe, Newt Gingrich, the SEC's Christopher Cox and actress-turned-blogger Mia Farrow -- on what blogs mean to them."
"2008 pres"
6:38:58 AM
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Political Wire: "President Bush 'may be trying to rally support for his strategy in Iraq, but his efforts are not faring well with the American public,' according to the latest Newsweek Poll. 'Nearly two thirds of Americans believe that the president's troop surge has been a failure, poll respondents said. The survey also found broad public support for cutting the number of troops deployed on the battlefield. But in a bright spot for the president, less than 20 percent favored immediate withdrawal.'"
"2008 pres"
6:36:56 AM
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From The Denver Post, "Mitt Romney swears a strong loyalty and affection for God, is a leader in his church, has raised five sons with his high-school sweetheart wife, doesn't drink or smoke and is an impeccable capitalist. His visit to the Republican Party faithful in Colorado Springs on Wednesday should seem an easy sell filled with symbolic opportunities. But Romney has a problem in the conservative Christian capital that is Colorado Springs. He is a Mormon, and many conservative Christians view the Mormon faith as a polytheistic cult - and Mormons as heretics."
Meanwhile second tier Republican candidates were in Iowa in an attempt to drum up support, according to The Rocky Mountain News. From the article:
On Aug. 11, the GOP is expected to winnow its crowded presidential field with a nonbinding but closely watched Republican straw poll in Ames, Iowa. Polls suggest that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney could run away with the top spot. Two other national figures, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Sen. John McCain of Arizona, have said they won't try to compete, even though their names will appear on the symbolic ballot. So for the next few weeks, the real fight is down on the bubble, where a bunched-up group of second-tier candidates know they had better edge out one another and break from the pack - or else they might as well pack up their souvenirs and go back to their day jobs...
Brownback and Huckabee are the two candidates who most directly appeal to evangelical Christian voters. Brownback touts his "Kansas values," promises he'd begin each day in the White House on his knees, praying for guidance. He tells crowds he wants to be the president who nominates the U.S. Supreme Court justice who tips the scales against Roe vs. Wade. Huckabee, a former Baptist minister, is appealing to essentially the same base of religious conservatives. Huckabee recently told The Gazette newspaper here that "in many ways, a president is a political pastor. That's what you do - you lead, you shepherd, you guide - but you don't tell people what to do. You encourage them to do things, but they don't have to do it." Besides Brownback, Huckabee and Tancredo, other Republicans hoping for a straw- poll breakthrough include former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas and Rep. Duncan Hunter of California.
Political Wire: "Sen. Hillary Clinton and Mitt Romney 'hold the leads in their respective New Hampshire primary races,' according to a new Concord Monitor poll shows. 'But it's not all good news for the top two: The poll finds each would face thornier challenges in the state's general election than others would.' In a Republican primary, Romney leads with 27%, followed by Rudy Giuliani with 20%, Sen. John McCain with 16% and Fred Thompson at 15%. In a Democratic primary, Clinton is in front with 33%, followed by Sen. Barack Obama at 25%, John Edwards at 15% and Bill Richardson with 7%."
"2008 pres"
6:20:05 AM
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Here's a look at the Roan Plateau and the controversy about developing it for oil and gas, from The Glenwood Springs Post Independent "reg". From the article:
Two staff members with Trout Unlimited (TU) filled an SUV with journalists to show them what's at stake on the Roan Plateau, and the drive along its ridges had led to the opportunity to fish in the creek. It's one of a couple of creeks on the plateau known to hold populations of almost genetically pure populations of Colorado River cutthroat trout. A sizable population is on Trapper Creek, where the anglers were to visit the next day...
It was a relaxing break for Fisher and Chris Hunt, an Idaho resident and TU's communications director on public lands issues. But Thursday's media tour was being conducted for more serious reasons, the same ones that had U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., grilling James Caswell in Washington that day over his nomination to be director of the BLM. Like Goddard, Salazar and TU object to the BLM letting drill rigs on top of the Roan. Salazar has said he would place a Senate "hold" on Caswell's nomination until the Department of Interior gives Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, a fellow Democrat, the 120 days he has requested to review the Roan plan...
Beyond the Roan's rim, the desert gives over entirely to rolling, lush country full of wildflowers and aspen trees, and valleys running with spring-fed streams. Grouse, red-tailed hawk, elk and other animals make appearances in a place where deer, bear and mountain lion also abound...
The drilling plan for the plateau calls for rigs to operate from ridge tops, to protect watersheds. But Goddard thinks the quarter-mile buffer zones around creeks are insufficient because many of the creeks are fed by springs that are farther away. "All you've got to do is screw up one spring and you've lost the whole creek," he said. Fisher, of TU, shares such concerns. He said a drilling-related spill in Wyoming wiped out one cutthroat trout population. "Poor land management flows downhill," he said. Susan Alvillar, of Williams Production, said the company already has numerous environmental protection programs in place for its drilling, including for protecting against spills. "We've got a myriad of regulations that we follow every day," she said. She said Williams has 14 wells on top of the Roan now, and three rigs that are currently drilling. "We've operated up there since the '80s, and certainly it's on our radar screen that everything that we do needs to be in accordance with all those regulations and make sure that we don't impact any of our precious resources up there," she said. Alvillar said many who work for Williams are avid hunters and anglers who understand the importance of protecting the environment. She also noted that the Roan plan is "very prescriptive" in aiming to reduce the impacts of drilling.
"2008 pres"
5:54:53 AM
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© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/15/09; 1:10:31 PM.
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